So… are you tired of eating, hearing about and reading about fried food yet?

Ok, we know Hanukkah is not over yet and we still have a few more days to go but… we’re ready to take a little break from the whole oil thing. Are you?

If you agree, you’ll probably love this recipe. To lighten things up a bit we’ve decided to “cheat” a little… In a good way.

How? Well, we’re taking our mom’s classic recipe for bulgur wheat patties (one of our favorite treats as kids which she usually fries) and we’re baking them instead. So the whole oil and frying theme is still there even though we’re not technically frying anything… Kind of like a recipe makeover. Get it?

Surprisingly, this lightened up version is even better than the original. And we’re not just saying that, even our mom agrees!

After all, that’s what makeovers are all about, aren’t they?

Hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Vicky and Ruth

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients ( yields 8 medium or 16 small patties):

1 cup fine bulgur wheat

1 cup water

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sweet paprika

1/2 tsp hot paprika

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil plus extra for drizzling

1/3 cup flour

TAHINI SAUCEPrep time: 5 minutesIngredients:

1/2 cup tahini paste

2 tbs lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt

4 tbs water

1 tsp sriracha (or to taste)

In a large bowl, soak bulgur wheat in 1 cup of water for 20 minutes until the water has been absorbed.

With your hands squeeze any water left on the bulgur wheat.

Preheat the oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper

Add the rest of the ingredients to bulgur wheat and mix until mell combined

Using your hands, form patties 8 medium or 16 small patties

Arrange patties on lined baking sheet. Drizzle each one lightly with olive oil and bake at 375F for 30 minutes, until golden brown

In the mean time, prepare the spicy tahini sauce. In a small bowl, mix tahini paste, salt with lemon juice with a spoon until it thickens. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time and mix until well incorporated (for thinner sauce, add more water, but remember thatsauce will thicken slightly when refrigerated). Add sriracha and refrigerate until ready to use